1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to communication between processes executing in a computer system and, more particularly, to transmitting commands to a robot control process which controls automatically performed operations similar to those previously performed by a human operator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Virtually all general purpose computer systems have some form of off-line storage for infrequently used or backup data. The most commonly used storage media for this purpose in the last 20 to 30 years has been magnetic tape due to its relatively low cost. In most systems, there is at least one tape drive which usually requires a human operator to mount the tapes to be used. Usually, this operation is prompted by requests from a program executing on the computer which, are displayed at the operator's console. Some computer systems use removable disks instead of tapes, but the operations are similar.
There have been several attempts to mechanize the process of mounting tapes or other storage media which is commonly performed by a human operator. For example, the IBM 3480 was a data storage device containing a number of small tape reels and an apparatus which operated like a jukebox to mount one of the tape reels on a drive contained in the IBM 3480 apparatus. Similar devices from other manufacturers using tape or more commonly disk-shaped media are currently being offered by several companies, including Perceptics (subsidiary of Westinghouse), Hewlett-Packard, Cygnet, MTI, Pinnacle, and Epoch. These devices typically require unique commands to control the device. As a result, existing software which relies upon the intervention of a human operator must be rewritten to use the unique commands of the particular device. This has a significant effect upon the ease with which these "jukebox-type" devices can be used to replace existing applications requiring mounting and dismounting of storage media, such as in backup operations.